1.19.2012

Diversion Five: The Knitting

About four years ago, I started knitting a lace rib cowl that I'd seen on The Purl Bee, intending to give it as a gift in my family's handmade holiday gift exchange. I started it, got several rows in before making a mistake, and pulled the whole thing out. I repeated that process around fifty times (seriously, fifty is not an exaggeration) over the course of several years - sometimes several times in one day, sometimes with several months in between retries. Finally, I came to terms with the fact that I wasn't up for seeing this pattern through. So I pulled the yarn out one last time and with it I started a basic little knit 2, purl 2 rib on my circular needles. But that project took a back seat to other things and eventually the beginning of my simple little cowl got packed away. Recently, while looking though a tool box full of art supplies, I found the project, which wasn't more that a few inches long. Our long, dark winter nights seemed like the perfect time to finally see this thing through. So:

There it is. I wish I'd had the gals in my old Long Island City knitting group to help me with a stretchy bind off, but I found one tutorial on-line that worked fine. On one hand I feel satisfied for finishing up something that lingered for far too long and I kinda don't want to see another knitting needle for a long time. And on the other hand I've got a crazy itch to start another knitting project.

Maybe I should finish the most beautiful purple tweed cabled sweater I started 4 years ago this winter....or not!

Love it, and it gives you something snuggly. I've found that the more mindless things that I actually want to wear are more my speed these days. You're making my fingers itchy to start a cowl now like yours.xo, M